Hemlines...And A Moment of Gratitude (Sort Of)

Check these out! This gorgeous "Hemlines Mix and Match Stationery" set from Chronicle Books which I purchased tonight from Borders while on a date with my husband. Yes, you read that correctly. The Monkey and I are so addicted to books (and me to magazines and stationery products) that we have been known to spend our one romantic night out a fortnight (thanks to Nana and Poppa's Excellent and Inexpensive Babysitting Service!) at Borders. We even have a ritual of sorts - we grab dinner at Nandos in Queen St. and then head into the magazine section, before I hit the Sewing and Quilting section (which is always disappointing) while the Monkey puruses Sci-Fi, closing with philosophy/pyschology and stationery (or history/computers if you're the Boy) on the basement floor. Then a chai latte or hot chocolate at Starbucks (yes, evil corporation, bad bad coffee bean stealing bastards, blah blah blah. I get it, I JUST DON'T CARE) before heading home to peace and tranquility. To be honest, this is my idea of a perfect date night - I love just hanging out with my husband, sharing our love of books, catching up with him about things that matter, and just BEING together. Once a fortnight.

Aren't we lucky?

[Actually now that I've had a play in the Chronicle website and registered for the e-newsletters, I need to add a few items to my wishlist - this (of course), this looks hilarious, and this would probably help me out A LOT - what an idea! In fact, I think I love Chronicle Books! Oh, and my husband too...now, what was I saying?]

When Good Mothering Goes Horribly Wrong

[Or, Why You Should ALWAYS Read The Recipe, Even if You Think You Know How to Bake Cookies]

[Or, 23 Delicious Reasons Why Daycare is Good for Children.]

We are enjoying a day wrapped up warm at home today...man, this winter trip is getting old! I'm sure everyone agrees that the perfect "at home" activity for a busy two year old is always chocolate chip coookies...I must have made these 900 times since Emma introduced me to her failsafe/idiot proof (HUH!) recipe. The mistake I made today was GUESSING how much flour is needed...and here we have a selection of delectable chocoloate chip wafers.

CeeJae was very philosophical and upbeat about the fiasco ("Don't worry about it, Mummy!"), although 3 kilos of cookie dough will do that to a boy, so we decided to eat and enjoy them anyway - and we saved some for Daddy, who will eat them regardless because they have chocolate in them. Poor CeeJae - doomed to have a sweet tooth.

And I made up for it by raiding my fabric scraps (yes, I keep the scraps) so we could spend the next hour gluing, stapling, and cutting to make these pretty pictures:

While he's asleep (fingers crossed - not sure if the cookie dough will be a help or a hindrance!) I plan to get in a bit of sewing - the nappy bag is almost done (thanks to a very productive quilt class earlier in the week), and I have a few other bits and pieces to get on with. Many of which will be topics for next week!

Oh, and this gorgeous hat is a little gift from Jewels - thank you, it's been perfect for this hideous weather!

Inspiration

One of the things I am finding really tough these days is that this blogging thing has introduced me to far too many clever people! I am now officially addicted to blogs (in addition to my addictions to magazines, linen, fabric, and stationery - as well as a few others I'm sure!) - and you may notice that the list of inspiring blogs on mine is constantly being updated as I come across more and more talented people!

My favourites this week are Cheeky Beaks (where I am in the throes of purchasing a peice of Kristen's gorgeous fabric - see Number 4), Mercy Lane, where Megan muses about her life (and she's a fellow NZ blogger who loves Spotlight as much as I do - yay!), and this free Bitty Booties pattern from Heather Bailey, which I found through Whip Up. I cannot wait to make a pair of these ADORABLE booties...thank you Heather! Only downside is that I missed out on Hillary's gorgeous pattern book...the unbearable pain being slightly allievated by the promise of a waiting list and a second printing!

I've also located inspiration in some less likely, but needed, places this week - in winter, which has inspired me to get out the first quilt I ever attempted and get it finished (handquilting a quilt also keeps you warm!), in the impending arrival of new babies, which is the source of inspiration behind the nappy bag and the red and cream baby quilt (with fabric being collected for another), in sadness, in gratitude, in kindness, and in joy.

The Magazine Swap is on next week - I am so excited! I have found the magazine for Marsy and I'm busy stuffing the package with a few extra goodies... This is my first swap, and it's been really nice meeting a like-minded blogger/Mum/woman - I can't wait for the next one!

Sneak Peak: Works in Progress

Tough Week

Not much to report on the sewing front this week...the nappy bag for my SIL is still at the "concept"stage, and I'm getting on with a little more of BabyGee's quilt whenever I can. I picked up a few more fabrics from Spotlight last week for BabyHill's quilt (and I have these on my wishlist at the Fat Quarter Shop too...) and joined the magazine swap at Cotton Strudel - join up while there's still space!

It's been a tough week. The kind of week where I'm reminded how much I love my little family, and my big family, and just how wonderful my friends are. Thank you to everyone for your support.

But I'll be ok and back to sewing and blogging next week - when I'll also turn another year older even!

xx